Vidal, as such, hopes that her paintings have the opportunity to hang in every possible alignment so that viewers have the chance to see the perspective of every figure. This total devotion to breeding empathy is the foundation of her art. Her prime directive is not creating versatile art, though that is a by-product. The greater concern is in helping people acknowledge that different lived experiences exist.
“We will never be able to see all points of view at the same time,” Vidal says. “All experiences exist all at once, but we only have one set of eyes and one mind through which we can experience this impossibly relative thing we call life. We choose every day how to approach life. The differences are so subtle and obvious at once. In the opposite hemisphere, everyone is upside down from our point of view. And vice versa. We are all just accustomed to this fact, but it is an extraordinary event.”
Vidal chooses to paint her perspectives over wood panels with the grain acting as the backdrop. The woodgrain becomes another character in her work. Lighter woods politely swirl like sand on a gust of wind, while darker varietals might roll behind the image with the ferocity of thunder clouds. “As I learnt from my masters,” she says, “every shadow has a reflection of the surrounding light. When I paint, I use the tone of the wood to paint that reflection. This helps to integrate the architecture and figures firmly in their space.”
Even the most formidable textures provide a mostly neutral base that allows Vidal to blithely play with lights and shades and reinforce the three-dimensionality of her paintings. The play between paint and wood further her concerns about the interactions between the manmade and the natural. The result is harmony.
“Wood panels allow me to paint in a world full of so many textures,” says Vidal. “In my last works, I dyed the base to heighten some aspects of the color while preserving the texture. Mostly, though, I paint on wood because I like the warm and homelike feelings it provokes.”
All experiences exist all at once, but we only have one set of eyes and one mind through which we can experience this impossibly relative thing we call life. We choose every day how to approach life. The differences are so subtle and obvious at once.
Those homelike feelings go back to Vidal’s childhood in Barcelona. There, she grew up in a flat that fills her memories with parquet floors and wooden furniture. That thread continues today, as her current home is filled with a surplus of wood and ceramic, not to mention the fact that she dwells atop her mother’s store, which sells toys made of wood.
“I always tried to flee from urban and synthetic environments,” Vidal says. “It is a family heritage.”
In addition to paintings, Vidal is also well-known for her mural work. Her murals have appeared all over the world, from Spain to Hawaii. These projects incorporate elements of the local cultural context to respect the environment and the people who will view it on a day-to-day basis. Two upcoming commissions will bring Vidal’s work home, with one at the International University of Catalonia in Barcelona, and the other in the public library of Cardedeu, her hometown. Vidal also has a new solo exhibition opening at Beinart Gallery in Australia that will premiere twelve new paintings.
But the project which excites her the most is the possibility of extending her practice into wood sculpture. This will allow her to take on a new challenge while extending her artwork’s mission into a new context.
Vidal reflects: “Working in sculpture would be a continuation of this year’s long exploration, but investigating in an entirely foreign language. I don’t want to paint the sculptures. I want to let their volume be present and speak for itself. I have a very good carpenter accomplice, we already did the first prototype and are really excited to do more!”*
This article first appeared in Hi-Fructose issue 68, which is still available in print here. See Cinta Vidal’s latest solo show at Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles here!
